Wajos Christmas Gin. Juniper, sweet plum, cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla, 42 percent – the gin for the weeks between Advent and New Year's.
Wajos Christmas Gin is a gin with 42 percent alcohol, whose botanicals are defined by sweet plums, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla and chai spices, alongside juniper; 500 ml from Dohr on the Moselle. Not a liqueur, not a sweet mulled wine gin, not a standard flavored gin with a winter label, but a dry gin whose spices smell like a Christmas market. 18+ only.
Christmas Gin from Wajos is on our table on the first Advent Sunday, once the candle is lit and dinner is over. A glass with plenty of ice, a tonic, a slice of orange – and the room suddenly smells of cinnamon and cardamom, as if someone had cookies in the oven. The bottle is often ordered from us – as a gift, a hostess gift, or for one's own cabinet. It is the gin you only drink in winter – and that is exactly why we enjoy it in December.
Dry juniper, topped with plum, cardamom and cinnamon
When poured, the gin initially smells of cinnamon and cardamom, warm and spicy, then of vanilla. On the tongue, it is dry and robust at 42 percent, and the juniper remains perceptible – it remains a gin, far removed from a liqueur. The sweet plum follows as a fruit note, soft and dark, and the chai spices linger on the finish. The sweetness remains well below liqueur levels: it is an impression of the spices rather than an ingredient.
To be honest: Wajos keeps to itself which botanicals beyond plum, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla and chai were in the pot, and in any case, a list of ingredients is missing from most gin. What matters is the profile – and that is clearly wintry. A summer gin is something different, and that is intentional.
For those who expect a classic London Dry with citrus and juniper at the forefront, this gin is not suitable – in that case, the Botanical Gin from Wajos with its 19 botanicals is the year-round choice. Those who prefer winter spices in rum will find them in Santas Spiced Rum.
As a Gin Tonic with orange, neat over ice, or in a hot glass
A Gin Tonic is the easiest way. Four centiliters of gin, a mild or classic tonic, plenty of ice, and an orange slice or cinnamon stick as a garnish. A sweet tonic with fruit makes it too soft – a dry tonic allows the cardamom and cinnamon to shine. For guests on an Advent evening, it is the drink that is ready in two minutes and looks more sophisticated. For those who avoid Gin Tonic, try it with ginger ale instead of tonic – sweeter, with ginger that complements the spices.
Neat and chilled, the gin shows what it's made of: juniper, plum, spice, in that order. A small glass after dinner, as a digestif; one glass is enough. As a winter variation, it also works warm: two centiliters of gin in a glass of hot apple juice with a cinnamon stick, or a splash in tea with honey – a hot gin that adopts the concept of mulled wine while remaining a gin.
In cocktails, it fits where a spice is otherwise needed: in a sour with lemon, sugar syrup, and egg white; in a Negroni, to which the spices add a winter note; or with cranberry juice and soda as a long, red drink. It is not suitable for fresh, summery cocktails with cucumber, basil, or elderflower – there, the cinnamon and herbs clash.
And as with any spirit: the gin is for ages 18 and up, and one good glass is better than three – Advent is long enough.
Our tip: Four centiliters of gin, tonic, ice, an orange slice and two cloves in the peel – the Gin Tonic we serve on St. Nicholas Eve.
From the house that started with liqueur and now makes gin
Spirits are the beginning of everything at Wajos. Walter Josef Oster, a winemaker in Ediger-Eller from a family with 15 generations of viticulture, founded a liqueur manufactory alongside the winery in the 1980s – his initials form the brand name. His son Peter Oster and Ulf Schwichtenberg turned it into the Wajos brand in Dohr near Cochem on the Moselle starting in the 2000s, opening their first store in Trier in 2008; today, they have over 80 employees.
The Christmas Gin is a special edition of the house for the winter: a gin with the spices otherwise found in mulled wine. Like most of the roughly 900 Wajos items, it is produced in Dohr and tested in their own laboratory before being bottled. That a winery makes gin is less far-fetched than it sounds – capturing and balancing aromas is what the Osters have been doing with wine for generations.
The gin for gifting and for Advent evenings at home
The Christmas Gin is the bottle for someone who likes gin and already has three bottles in the cabinet. The fourth one is the one with cinnamon, and that is the one they are missing. As a hostess gift for an Advent dinner, as a sophisticated Secret Santa gift, or for your own cabinet: 500 milliliters are enough for about twelve Gin Tonics, enough for the whole of December. It should be stored in a dry, dark place and kept upright, outside the refrigerator. Anyone looking for an entire winter bar will find, in addition to the gin, the Christmas Spiced Rum and Gin Pralines on our Wajos page.
The gin is not suitable for anyone under 18, and for anyone who finds cinnamon and cardamom too much in a glass – here, they are the main event rather than a garnish.
Juniper, plum and Christmas spice, 42 percent, from the Moselle – the gin that brings Advent into your glass.
